The Ou River, the longest tributary of the Mekong in the Lao PDR, is undergoing massive changes, with seven dams in various stages of construction already affecting the livelihoods of Khmu communities that have resided there for generations. Sabrina Gyorvary recently visited the area with a local guide and recounts her conversations with community members as they recollect their memories of living with the Ou River.

Women fishers in Kratie Province, Cambodia are concerned about plans for the Don Sahong Dam upstream in Laos. They worry that the river’s fisheries and the endangered Irrawaddy Dolphin will be affected. Working with civil society groups, they have raised their voice through a campaign that has involved both protest and radio shows.

Women are often at the forefront of protecting forests in the Mekong region. Women are now seeking greater representation and influence in decision-making over the protection and management of community forests.

The people of the Kampong Phluk community, a seasonally-flooded wetlands on the Tonle Sap Lake in Cambodia, are facing impacts on their culture and livelihood from recent changes in fisheries management and planned dams. Women in the community voice their perspectives and concerns.

A personal reflection of the aspirations of a Shan lady, Ms. Nang Shining, who is seeking sustainable peace, justice and development in her hometown of Mong Pan, Southern Shan State, Myanmar. She discusses the impacts of recent logging and plans for the Mong Ton (Tasang) dam, and her work building new civil society organizations.

Cambodia’s garment industry is replete with stories of mistreatment of workers, inadequate wages and exploitation. An all-woman band calling itself “The Messenger Band” compose and perform their own lyrics and music to share personal stories of affected workers and bring people together to end worker exploitation.

Sor.Rattanamanee Polkla is a public interest lawyer, and co-founder of the Community Resources Centre based in Bangkok. In this article, she talks with Carl Middleton about how public interest lawyers in Thailand work to enforce and reform the law in the interest of the public, case by case.

Thailand’s government is embarking on a multimillion baht “floodway project” to build a series of dykes and dams for flood management. Ms. Jittra Indrawittayananta, a woman community leader, argues that the project will exacerbate flooding and reminds us that communities need to be part of the decisions on flood infrastructure projects.

Commons Comment

The Dawei Special Economic Zone (SEZ) project in Myanmar will establish large-scale industrial estates for export-led industrialization. Japan has recently expressed interest in investing in the Dawei SEZ. Japan’s economy has been built on this model of industrial development. This development model has caused enormous environmental and health impacts.

Minari Tsuchikawa questions whether it is appropriate for Japan to impose this type of “development” model on Myanmar rather than allow the people of Myanmar to find their own path of sustainable development.